Author: sikander

2007 Niagara Falls

There’s No Place Like This

Post author By sikander
Post date June 15, 2007
3 Comments on There’s No Place Like This

“The Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership is a government agency created in 1999 to partner with Ontario tourism operators to showcase Ontario as a four-season must-see travel destination at home and internationally.”

The OTMPC Summer 2007 Brand Campaign had a 90 second “There’s No Place Like This” ad that was shown on TV regularly during March and April. About 40 seconds into the commercial (watch here) you will see a ridiculously long suspension bridge. The first time lunato and I saw the ad on TV, we said “wow!” simultaneously and decided we must where that bridge is. It had to be in Ontario, but where ?!

Google search led us to multiple Ontario travel websites but the campaign was relatively new so we couldn’t find any information about the suspension bridge. I called the Ontario Travel agency and inquired about the commercial and the suspension bridge but the agent didn’t know what I was talking about. She offered to mail an Ontario Travel Guide and suggested that the guide might have pictures of bridge and I might be able to find more information there. Sure, thanks! The guide arrived within a week but unfortunately no helpful hints about the suspension bridge.

Lunato and I continued our search on the internet and our research seemed to indicate the bridge might be in the gigantic Algonquin Provincial Park. Now, months later, with more information online about the ad campaign, we know that the bridge is Canada’s longest foot suspension bridge, 600 feet across the Eagle Canyon. Insane. We’re planning on visiting it during the Fall.

During the Hunt For The Bridge, lunato stumbled upon the Whirlpool Jet Boat website. Before I go any further, click here to watch a video of the Jet Boat ride.

Done ? Now click here to continue.

“WOW!”, right ?

The Jet Boat ride starts from Niagara-On-The-Lake and travels along the Niagara River towards the Niagara Whirlpool, which is a natural whirlpool with a depth of about 38m. The water flowing from the Niagara Falls flows into the Niagara River and then takes a 90 degree turn thus forming the whirlpool. The water around this area is extremely turbulent with rapids all over the place.

Once boat engines became powerful enough to brave these rapids, it probably did not take too long for someone to realize that people would pay money to get soaked with water.

Since Harry was going to visit Canada soon, lunato and I decided that we will wait until he arrives and then go together. $56 CDN per person is a bit pricey but it was sure worth it.

We had reservations for 5 PM. Lunato was working until 2 and I had taken the day off so we were in front of her workplace at exactly 2 PM. Yonge and Bloor in Toronto to 61 Melville Street in Niagara-On-The-Lake is about 138 km and we had 3 hours until the jet boat left the docks. However, visitors are expected to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure for an info session. With the horrible Toronto Friday Traffic to contend with, I had to drive very creatively to reach our destination on time. Dooh and Harry fell asleep while I was driving.. what ungrateful punks. At least we got a funny picture of them.

The Jet Boat ride was amazing. We were lucky enough to be in the front row. Dooh kept saying “I hate you, I hate you” when I insisted we sit at the front.. but once the ride was over he was grateful that I had insisted to be at the front. The “Ten Thousand Gallon Nasal Flush” really felt like the 10k Nasal Flush. We were soaked to our bones from head to toe. Numerous times the water inside the boat was up to our chest. It’s an amazing ride and well worth the admission price. Just make sure you take an extra set of clothes with you; shirt, pants, underwear, socks, and a towel too!

After the Jet Boat ride we drove along the Niagara Parkway to Niagara Falls, stopping occasionally along the way for pictures.

Lunato and I recently got in touch with Margarita through Lisa, our 2002-2004 roommates from Ottawa, and while browsing through her wedding pictures on facebook, one picture stood out in particular. It was so unique and nice that lunato insisted that we create our own version of it. After multiple tries, we succeeded. So here they are:

Niagara Falls is always fun. Lunato had been putting off going to Screamers until Harry was here so we went there right after parking and having a bite to eat. It was just as much fun as I imagined it would be. I led the way followed by Lunato, Dooh, and Harry. Harry opted to stay at the back ~~behind Dooh, his favourite position~~. We yelled and screamed in absolute darkness but kept inching forward. At one point someone breathed down my neck and whisphered ominously “Leave the girl behind.” Hehe.

We took a few more pictures here and there and then it was time to head back. We were sleeping at my mother’s house in Mississauga tonight. She had insisted that Harry and his mother should visit her while they were here in Toronto. They’ve known each other almost as long as Harry and I. Unfortunately she had already left for Ottawa by the time we reached Mississauga. Oh well, maybe next time.

2007 Wonderland

Reunion at Wonderland

My first visit to Wonderland was during highschool with Shekhar and Harry. Our highschool, Merivale Highschool, was taking students on its annual Wonderland trip for, as far as I remember, $40 per person. Shekhar and I bought tickets in advance and were roaming around the school waiting to board the chartered bus when we saw Harry walking in the hallways all by himself. Somehow he had managed to shake off the numerous highschool girls that were stalking him. School ended at 2:15 PM back in 1999 and it was close to 4 PM so Harry had probably been engaged in some unmentionable activities with some of the females that he deemed worthy of talking to.

“Hey, want to go to Wonderland ?”

“Sure”

And so all three of us boarded the bus and went to Wonderland, 453km away.

It was grad night at Wonderland and students from all over the province, some even from Montreal, were at the park. We reached the park around 8 PM and stayed there until 5 in the morning before heading back to Ottawa. It was a fun and memorable night.

The 2nd time I went to wonderland was with Alidhooh, Ed, and Harry in 2002 and the 3rd time was with Lunato, Alidhooh, and Harry in 2003. Today we had a re-union with Harry in Wonderland.. after 4 years. As mentioned before, Alidhooh hadn’t met Harry ever since he left Canada in 2003 and Lunato and I last met him in Indonesia in 2004.

I guess it was an appropriate place to meet after all these years. The cool nonchalant casualness of the reunion sure matches Harry’s demeanour. Nothing fazes him. Nothing surprises him. Nothing brings joy to his life.. he has transcended the mortal plane and sees things as others do not. He sees the past, present, and future all at once so he knows laughter and enjoyment today doesn’t necessarily mean anything in the long run. Eons from now when all has turned to dust and the Big Crunch is imminent he will reflect at the sum experience of his existence and he will surely not remember that he met friends that love and care about him in Paramount Canada’s Wonderland on a sunny summer day on June 14th 2007.

Ocean’s Thirteen is an enjoyable movie but it didn’t need to be made at all. Pacino’s talent is wasted in this movie.

2007 Birthdays

Dooh @ Demetre

Dooh, Lunato, and I started making plans as soon as Harry mentioned that he was going to visit Canada during June of 2007. We discussed back and forth about what we should do, where we should visit, and most importantly when Dooh and Harry should visit Toronto from Ottawa.

After much deliberation it was decided that they will depart from Ottawa on 13th, Wednesday, around noon and spend 14th, 15th, and then the weekend of 16th and 17th in Toronto. Lunato, excellent at planning vacations, made detailed plans for how to best utilize each day.

Lunato and I hadn’t met Harry since our visit to Jakarta in October of 2004 and Dooh hadn’t met Harry since he left Ottawa back in September of 2003.

Dooh and I applied for 2 days-off from work. Lunato is free from 2PM on weekdays so she decided not to take time off for Thursday or Friday. Shekhar was supposed to join us as well but unfortunately he had a previous engagement for the weekend that he just could not back out of.

In any case, we arranged everything that needed to be arranged, bought everything that needed to be bought, fixed everything that needed to be fixed, confirmed everything that needed to be confirmed, informed Renny of our plans, reminded Harry multiple times about the plan, and then waited patiently for the 13th.

On the morning of the 13th, mere hours before the Greyhound bus was scheduled to depart from Ottawa, Harry called me and informed me that he is not coming because something came up.

…

Dooh was furious but being the patient man that he is he held his tongue and quietly made his way to the Bus Terminal.

I used profanity, told Harry to do as he pleased, hung up, and went back to work.

Lunato was shocked as well but she gave him the benefit of the doubt and tried to convince me that some emergency situation must’ve occured and that is why he can’t adhere to the orignal plan. Tsk tsk, she simply hasn’t known Harry as long as Dooh and I have.

Dooh rode the bus alone from Ottawa to Toronto. We met him at the Bus Terminal near Bay and Dundas, argued and whined about Harry’s yet-again-but-to-be-expected casual disregard of pre-made, pre-approved, pre-confirmed, pre-reconfirmed and pre-re-reconfirmed plans. Arrrgh!!

But that’s typical Harry and we love him for what, and who, he is. Besides, as he commented later, “It would be a boring story to tell if everything went smoothly”

Dooh’s birthday was on the 11th of June and Lunato and I had deliberately ignored it and hadn’t called him or wished him a happy birthday. We were going to take him to Demetre and celebrate together with Harry. Demetre’s strawberry-belgian-waffle-ice-cream is delicious and the Demetre staff played the birthday song for Dooh when they brought him his food. I think it was a nice surprise.. he wasn’t expecting it at all.

After Demtre we just went home instead of wandering around downtown Toronto until the wee hours of the morning. While complaining about Harry and narrating past episodes of Harry’s chicanery, infidelity, treachery, betrayal, duplicity, perfidy, and knavery to Lunato (one of my favourite pastime) the lights went out in the whole neighbourhood. After fighting-off the invading mutant zombie horde we finally went to sleep fully expecting Harry to not show up the next day.